How I Got 1 Million Points From 20 Credit Cards
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 พ.ค. 2024
- 👕 Cuts Clothing (Use code “DANIELBRAUN” to save 20%): danielbraun.me/Cuts
In this video, we’re going through my entire credit card roadmap to show how I got 20 credit cards by age 28. I’ll walk through my thought process behind getting each of these credit cards and I’ll also discuss the sign up bonuses that I was able to get. These sign up bonuses have now combined to over 1 million credit card points, so hopefully this roadmap is useful for anyone else looking to do something like I’ve done!
In the beginning, I focused a lot on Chase credit cards because I wanted to optimize my setup for the Chase 5/24 rule. I also got a few American Express credit cards early on, before going back to Chase. Eventually I started adding some business credit cards, hotel credit cards, and airline credit cards as well. This video is a full recap of all of this in my credit card journey, so I hope you enjoy!
LINKS:
💳 My Top Credit Cards: danielbraun.me/TopCreditCards
💳 Learn More About The Bilt Mastercard. Use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points: danielbraun.me/Bilt
*Bilt Terms: danielbraun.me/BiltTerms
🏦 SoFi Checking & Savings ($300 Bonus): danielbraun.me/SoFi
🛒 Get a $30 Bonus With Rakuten: danielbraun.me/Rakuten
📱 Follow Me On Instagram: / _danbraun
CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Intro
0:16 - Card 1
2:09 - Card 2
3:12 - Card 3
4:04 - Card 4
5:24 - Card 5
6:06 - Card 6
7:16 - Card 7
8:16 - Cuts Clothing
9:17 - Card 8
10:40 - Card 9
11:23 - Card 10
12:15 - Card 11
13:10 - Card 12
13:42 - Cards 13 & 14
15:06 - Card 15
16:27 - Card 16
16:53 - Cards 17 & 18
18:36 - Card 19
19:32 - Card 20
CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER VIDEOS:
▶️ Amex Platinum - 15 Things You MUST Do (2023 Update): • Amex Platinum - 15 Thi...
▶️ The Bilt Mastercard - 1 Year Later (My Honest Review): • The Bilt Mastercard - ...
▶️ I Ranked Every Credit Card (Here’s What’s ACTUALLY Good): • I Ranked Every Credit ...
▶️ You’re (Probably) Killing Your Credit Score: • You’re (Probably) Kill...
▶️ The Only 5 Credit Cards You Need in 2024: • The Only 5 Credit Card...
DISCLAIMER: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this website are from companies which Daniel Braun will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Daniel Braun is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers.
The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available.
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It's very kind of Matt Damon to teach us about credit cards in his spare time
Oh Daniel is 🚬🚬🔥🔥matt...is just so so😐. Probably his brother, from another mother
😂😂😂
Lol that's a new one I have never heard before! 😂
Spare time? This is his main job.
@@Daniel_BraunHey Daniel a Younger Baby face Matt Damon 😂
always apply for sapphire cards in the spring , they just upped the reserve bonus to 75k and the preferred has a inbranch offer for 85k
Love how your journey has progressed over-time and how the Credit Cards you got reflected the priorities you had at the time. Smart to start with Chase & add some of those Mid-Tier Hotel Cards that can be treated as Keepers in your Setup (assuming the Free Night is utilized). Fun video Daniel!
Thanks Matt! Yeah this was a fun video to make to go back and walk through the journey up to this point!
Amazing that you don't get overwhelmed by all the cards. Thanks for the video, as usual.
I'd say that I'm in a comfortable place but don't see myself getting too many more cards for a while now. Maybe will get another business card if it makes sense - but the number that each person should have definitely varies
Did a quick tally; if we don't factor any sign up bonuses, card spending multiplier, plus other benefits, Dan's CC portfolio has an total annual cost of $3,040 in just fees (after Amex annual fee adjustments).
I've always wondered about his combined annual fees and I'm glad he did this video to make the info gathering easier.
Almost correct, but slightly lower than that actually right now because some cards have no fee in first year, some cards have been downgraded, and some annual fees have changed. Closer to $2,700 right now
I actually break this down a bit more and explain my thoughts on whether that’s worth paying that much with this many cards in my next video 👍
@Daniel_Braun thanks for replying to this. I'm new to credit cards and I can't help but think the annual fees and the amount you need to spend for SUB to be crazy expensive.
You can't underestimate the fact that as a credit card You Tuber DB should be getting referrals on some of these cards which mitigates the annual fee. Very nice video.
@@SpartanOfFinance Yeah I am able to receive some referral bonuses, but to be transparent I don't factor those in when putting out content about this stuff because it's not achievable for the average person who doesn't have an audience.
So for example with the Amex Business Gold card that I'm closing later this year with it's increased $375 annual fee, yes I could get referrals to justify keeping it open - but I can't just tell other people to do the same thing if that makes sense haha. So I try to just run my strategy without considering the referrals, and then if I get referrals then that's just like a bonus
@@Daniel_Braun I have the Biz Gold too. Got it when it was $295 with 150K bonus. Its a tough card to love unless they drown me with a tidal wave of points as a retention bonus.
Love seeing roadmap videos like this Daniel. Thanks. And while I understand that not everyone is going to be comfortable with a large setup like yours, I think the two things that all credit card users can take away from this video is the importance of a solid foundational budget, and that a little planning and research can go a long way towards making good decisions on what card(s) to pick up so they get maximum benefit from them.
Great video Dan!
I have been watching your videos for years, and just realized I was never subscribed. I have subscribed now, weird that it continued to come up on my fyp but it has benefited me in my youth financial education
Thank you so much for watching and subscribing now! The good thing is that TH-cam still shows my videos as long as you're watching them - whether you're subscribed or not. But the sub definitely helps in the long run so I appreciate it!
This was an awesome video! Welcome offers are the best way to earn points fast and it's cool you're at over 1,000,000 points and counting from just the bonuses
I make one year of following your content in June! I came across your freedom unlimited vids back when I first started out my points and miles game. I’m about 9 cards in atm (no debt lol )
Keep up the great content Dan!
Thanks so much for following my channel for so long, Ron! Great to hear that you're doing well with your strategy!
Wow I have bene waiting for this one!
Yessir! Very glad that I was finally able to make this one
Daniel: with you being in Philadelphia, I’m surprised you don’t have a Citi AAdvantage Executive card in your mix, since PHL is an American hub.
Congrats on your 20th card at 28! I got my very first credit card in 2012 (via my ex-wife) in my mid 30s. Once I remarried, I began applying for additional credit cards. From 2018 to present day, I have a total of 15 credit cards (in my late 40s)! I have 5 AMEX, 5 Chase (to include the Ritz), 2 Citi AA cards, 1 Barclays AA Red, 1 Cap One Venture (my 2012 card), and 1 Navy Federal Platinum Visa.
This was awesome 🔥🔥🔥
Thank you! Glad you liked it 👍
hello, can you go over hotel credit cards more! I love your videos and wanted to know more about your opinion on the marriott hotel cards. I am looking to get the Chase marriot bonvoy boundless as my next card.
Personally I think that hotel cards like that are just ok - better if you get it when there's a better limited time sign up bonus going on. The benefits on that card are just OK - spending multipliers aren't great because Marriott points aren't that valuable. If you travel a lot with Marriott and want Platinum status then the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant is expensive but more worth it for the status
Great video! I have accumulated 7 credit cards since October 2022 due to watching you. Appreciate you!
I just wish I started as young as you did.... but I definitely make the most of it now at 40
Never too late to start! And now you've got a ton more options of cards to get at age 40 versus what was available 10 years ago! Better sign up bonuses too haha
Had no idea you went to Penn State. We are. Keep the great content up.
Definitely about to get the platinum in a few months for the Philly lounge. I don’t have confidence in how soon the sapphire lounge will open they aren’t even done building the walls in there. However they advertising more and more by the day in the terminal
Daniel you’re so inspiring I have no credit history and decided to implement your strategy right at once that’s why I applied for 20 cards at the same time and now I’m sure to get that sweet sweet welcome bonus as well as that cash back
I’m kidding 3 CCs are enough for me
don't apply for multiple at a time. it makes it harder to get a card
Do you still have the personal and business versions of both the AMEX Gold and Platinum cards or did you cancel the personal cards? If not, why not and do you plan to since there is a lot of overlap? I’ve considered switching to the business cards myself.
i love credit cards and the game of credit cards lol for some reason and so in just 8 months i got a secured bofa secured credit card hopefully it'll graduate soon, then i got the chase freedom flex with 2.2k credit limit which is not bad honestly and i recently got the savor one with a credit limit of 5k so overall i have like 7.4k of credit limit, never missed a payment and have a credit score thats only goin up and trying to put some history behind it! also im goin to wait at least 6 months to see if i get a credit limit increase or apply for the sapphire preferred hoping to increase my credit limit.
Very nice start to your credit journey! I love that you're taking it slow and putting a lot of thought into what cards you're getting 👍
W video bro thank you
Much appreciated! Thanks for watching!
Hello! I noticed with the custom cash being your only CITI card you don’t have the option to funnel those points toward travel with partners. Are you currently using that card solely for cash back or accumulating points to potentially incorporate a Premier in the future?
how on earth do you keep track of what spending should be done on which card? put a post-in note on every card? i have a hard enough time remembering with only 4 cards! 🙃
I would love to see how much you pay on annual fees each year vs. how much you saved on the perks of each card each year after the initial SUB.
I feel like it would be a ton of research but it would give some really awesome data points!
It's around $2,700 in annual fees, but that number is significantly reduced by the credits and value from benefits I get on each card that I have. I can break down each card in another video - I think it would be really interesting to document as well!
Love the video 📹 ❤️
Thank you as always for stopping by!
@@Daniel_Braun you're welcome!
Hi Daniel, having 20 credit cards is quite impressive. I'm curious if there's a genuine need for so many cards. As someone who prefers cashback, I fail to see the purpose of having 20 credit cards unless I have intentions of purchasing a commercial building and require the cash advance. However, the high interest rates would likely deter me from pursuing that avenue.
Great video. I have a question. What are the best travel credit cards for beginners? I’m 18 with no credit history but I will be attending college up in Canada so I’ll be flying back to the U.S fairly often so I’m more interested in travel than cash back. Is it possible to get a travel cc with being so young and having no credit history? If so what do you recommend? Thank you
I'd start with Discover It or Chase Freedom Rise to start building credit. Then eventually I'd say to move on to Chase Sapphire Preferred or go with Capital one cards. Here's a video that explains the ideal order: th-cam.com/video/8k8FdXGjtWY/w-d-xo.html
Can you make a video about how to combine business ink cash points to my preferred? I have two separate accounts
Could you or have you discussed how your score fluctuated when applying and opening all these accounts under two years as the number of hard credit inquiries and new accounts being opened affects your credit score?
That’s my main hesitation when opening new cards close together. I generally haven’t done more than 1-2 in a couple years 😅.
I understand taking a temporary hit, but wondering how that worked when it seems you got 2-3 consistently for several years (you also recommended every 3-6 months).
Honestly I would say that as I've opened more cards over the years, the impact has been less each time. The credit limits go up in addition to the inquiries happening which also helps
Because the impact of the inquiries goes away so quickly, it's never really been something that's concerned me when getting new cards.
The only time that I would say to think about the impact of this is if you plan to get a mortgage or any other type of loan within the next 6 months. Leading up to that, I would avoid opening a new card for the hard pull
Interesting how all things considered a good sense of strategies makes economic sense. Now having some what followed your example, I also get a plethora of other credit card offers, thanks to the marketing activities used by the three credit bureaus. I think so far this year I have shredded at least 5 pounds of mailed paper offers for new credit cards. Sending in requests to remove my name and address from the rolls does not seem to matter that much. Using e mail accounts does not seem to help either, because I get at least 30 or more offers a week there as well. I never thought that in today's times and circumstances the marketing and ads would be this significant from banks.
Yeah the amount of mail offers for credit cards that I receive has been a lot lately as well
Do you regret getting the amex gold before the green as you can't go back and get the sign up bonus on the green now?
Personally I don't regret it because I had the card for 3 years before Amex made that change in their rules and I still didn't get the Green card during that time. I just don't really see much of a benefit in having that card and the sign up bonus is very below average compared to similar cards on the market. To me I probably would have got the 40,000 point SUB on the green and then cancelled after a year anyway
Are you from Philadelphia like born and raised ? and thank you for sharing g this im 23 trying to build and leverage my credit
You don't need the Citi Premier to access the travel portal and partners? Do you have full access with just having the Citi custom cash card?
No you do need the Citi Premier and I’ll likely get that card eventually - but until then I’m just saving the points earned on my custom cash
Worst case is that if I don’t end up getting the premier, then I’ll just convert my points on the Custom Cash into cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point
@@Daniel_Braun Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate it.
I could not walk thru which card I got when or which month/year 🤣Great video concept
Hahaha yeah I had to got back through my Credit Karma account to get the dates correct and everything, but I'm surprised myself that I was able to remember the bonuses I got 😂
Thanks Lani!
I'm turning 18 on Saturday, and I was wondering if I should apply for the Capital One Savor One Card, or should I just get a student card?
I put my brother as an AU on my savor one and once the card showed up on his CK with 3 months of payments he applied for his own and was approved
I'd say to go with the Discover It student card first - probably the best rewards and best place place to start with a student card
QQ - I’ve heard that AMEX will do soft pulls for existing customers to see if you are initially approved for a card, but then if you decide to move forward with opening the account, they will do a hard inquiry. Has that been your experience?
As an Amex customer with 4 cards with them, all the rest of the cards I got after my first have been soft pulls, never hard. It will only ding your credit for few points like 3 or 4 after it reports but still soft pulls. That’s been my experience at least!
Personally I've never had any hard pulls from Amex other than my first Amex card that I got with the Gold in 2020. Ever since then they've only done soft pulls, even after getting approved
@@Daniel_Braun awesome, thanks!
I didn’t know you went to Penn state (: we are!!
Penn State!
We are... Penn State!! 🔥
How do you deal with all the annual fees? I know that if you continually use credits some have, it helps offset the fee, but still. That's a lot of cards to pay fees on. How do you do it?
It truly is just about evaluating each card on it's own value that it provides versus the annual fee I pay. Looking at the annual fees of $2,700 I pay as a whole doesn't make a lot of sense to most people. But on an individual card basis, each one brings me more than enough value for the amount of travel that I do. Still though, I do evaluate the benefits each year and then decide to keep, cancel, or downgrade when it makes sense (which is why I plan to cancel the $375 Amex Business Gold card this year because it no longer makes sense for cost of the card)
@@Daniel_Braun Makes perfect sense. I am sure a chart is utilized of some sort to determine the cost benefit analysis of each AF card.
This response reflects your videos perfectly. The analysis, organization, and information is the reason I decided to follow your channel. I hope your channel continues to grow and bring you joy. I definitely look forward to your videos.
@@gottabe884 Thank you so much for saying that! Yeah there is definitely organization and time needed on my end to analyze these things, but I enjoy it a lot which is why I do it. I don't spend my money on many things either, but I do like to spend on travel - so ultimately I basically spending money to save money on travel (which I would already spend money on anyway, if that makes sense haha)
Thanks again for following my channel and watching my content! It really means a lot to me 👍
@@Daniel_Braun No, thank you for taking the time to reply to comments on your videos! You really have great community engagement and do a great job engaging your community.
I can see how having the financial structure as you do when it comes to credit cards and maybe other aspects, for getting the most out of travel. I have been looking into that type of structure for more than a few years now. My biggest hang ups seem to be the AFs and the fact that we have 2 dogs we would have to find sitters for. I have been stuck between the Sapphire Preferred and the Venture X for awhile and just can't decide.
Could you make a video about the Apple Credit Card? and talk about the savings account they are offering
there were talks about the apple card discontinuing because of their loss of relationship with goldman sachs, so i would keep an eye out for that. and in my opinion there are better options both card wise and savings account wise. i would look into a HYSA, there are offers up to 5.1% right now!
Got one right here: th-cam.com/video/F6IUl3FAolA/w-d-xo.html
Will be making another one soon!
Just curious, how do you keep all 20 in good standing in regard to account activity ?? Subscriptions or Amazon reloads are the biggest ones that come to mind, but they get annoying after a while
I actually am able to pretty naturally use most of these cards at least once per year - but for any that I don't use as often, I just sort of know it and I'll make sure to put a charge on it if it's been too long not using it.
I also track my net worth monthly in a Google Sheet and so I update that with my credit card balances on each card. So when I update that sheet, I check each card and can see when I used it last which also helps me to know when it's been a while since it's been used
Amazon reloads can be another tool like you said because I know some people do that as well
@@Daniel_BraunYou’re carrying balances?
@@natejohnson3016 Never carrying balances. Always pay off credit cards on time and in full after the statement closing date, but before the payment due date
@@Daniel_Braun For sure. Sorry I was confused by your statement about updating your current balances on NW calculator. I was going to say, paying interest instantly negates any and all benefits haha
Has anyone ever tried downgrading sapphire to a flex then applying for another sapphire, and chase caught on and denied them? That would suck so bad if you get rid of it and they dont let you have it back
The good thing is that you could always product change back to a Sapphire card. I don't think it's really something where Chase "catches on" because they're the ones that make these rules the way they are in the first place. If the didn't want people to do this then they could easily just make it so that you can only get 1 sign up bonus in your lifetime.
@@Daniel_Braun makes sense. Is it best to downgrade at the ending of an anniversary?
What do you do with the credit cards that you don’t use?
I just hold on to them and then use them at least once every 9-12 months to keep active. But I naturally use almost all cards at least once per year anyway with how they fit into my spending.
Thank you! I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred and BILT MasterCard, and I’m unsure if I should get Chase Unlimited or jump to Amex Gold.
How do you keep those older cards from not closing?
I naturally use almost all of my cards at least once per year for different spending purposes. But for cards that I use less frequently, I just make sure to put at least 1 transaction on it every 9-12 months to keep it from closing due to inactivity
dave ramsey would be proud lol
I can hear his voice yelling at me already 😂
Do you have to own a Chase credit account to have a credit card with them?
No you don’t. Just apply for whatever Chase card or Chase co-branded card and go from there. I have five Chase co-branded cards and don’t have a traditional bank account with them.
Why not product change to ritz instead of csr?
Upgrading to the Ritz card would be a good option and I'll still consider upgrading my Bonvoy Boundless to it next year. But I went with the CSR for 2 reasons. First, no sign up bonus for upgrading to Ritz card (CSR gave me 60,000 points). And second, CSR gives me access to transfer partners which I need for the Chase points I have/earn
I also have the Chase Ink Preferred right now which also has these transfer partners - but next year I may downgrade or cancel that. So the CSR just makes more sense right now - but the Ritz card is great and could make a lot of sense if I start to lean more towards Marriott next year as well. I really wish that the Ritz card gave higher status though
But great question!
Out of all 20 cards I’m surprised you’ve never got a Capital One card. At least a Venture X or Savor 🤷🏽♂️
Denied for Venture X last year which I mentioned in other videos (probably because Capital One saw I have too many cards). So my fiancee has that card in our 2 player setup. I really do like Capital One and may see how I can make that work in my strategy in the future. But the Venture X wasn't originally a part of my plan until recently because it's a new card
This seems so much more stressful than just using cash and debit lol. Glad it works for you though.
Agreed that for some people, having this many cards can be too stressful and not worth it. I've got a great video coming out next week about the right number of credit cards to have for different people
Why cancel the Amex gold business card doesn’t it hurt your credit
No it doesn't because in this case it's a business credit card so it's not affecting my personal credit whatsoever. But even for closing personal credit card accounts, it's not that big of a deal if the card no longer makes sense for me. The good thing is that because I have so many accounts, if I close a 1 personal card then the effect is not much at all. A closed personal account will also still stay on my credit report for 10 years - it's just the credit limit going away that really has any impact
@@Daniel_Braun gotchu also i was wondering what your thoughts are abt my situation i comentes on an older video abt bnpl like klarna and those apps, i want to make a investment for a camera but it’s like 3k. I just opened an Amex gold card this week, i upgraded my quicksilver to a savor one, i was thinking abt maybe making installment plans with Best Buy card but would that be too many inquiries in my credit. What would you reccoment
Hey look! I’m here first! 👀
Just as always CJ! 😂
AAA VISA has great offers
1 card 5% gas 1 card 5% groceries they also have 3% spend categories (I forget em google it) and electronic purchase insurance
I've got a video that I want to make very soon about underrated credit cards like this because these AAA Cards are great for a cash back setup! No annual fee as well 👍
😊
😝
First comment! Thanks as always for stopping by early! 🥇
Why no capital one cards?
Denied for Venture X last year which I mentioned in other videos (probably because Capital One saw I have too many cards). So my fiancee has that card in our 2 player setup
@@Daniel_Braun do you think after I get my chase trifecta I should go for the capital one duo? Currently have the CFU and CFF.
I think that’s a good idea if those cards make sense for you. Capital One tends to be better with approvals earlier in the credit card journey rather than later
😊💳✨️
Thanks for watching!
What's the point?
Travel with credit card points, travel benefits, other protections and features. Definitely don't recommend everyone have 20 credit cards, but for organized people who will get value from the travel stuff then it can make sense. Different for everyone though
Playing the credit card game is not smart. He will be making the next video on how i have a 100k in cc debt.
No CapitolOne??? 😂
True. No cap1. He a baller now, he dont fool with sub prime cards I guess :-) tee hee
He has talked about not being able to get the venture x card as there system bucketed him :(
Got denied for the Venture X last year (probably because of my higher number of cards haha) but my fiancee got it so we still use the Venture X in our 2 player setup! I did actually check and get preapproved for the Venture X the other month though, so maybe I could still get it in the future if I really want to - we'll see because I'm interested in maybe trying a Capital One Duo setup
Of course you have a lot of cards. Talking about credit cards is your main source of income and you certainly can’t do that if you don’t have the cards you are talking about.
Imagine if you just paid yourself all of those annual fees each year and kept a few keeper cards. You can use the cash for travel, for credits (with no restrictions), the balance rolls over each year, you can earn interest on it, and you can use it for whatever. There comes a point where the cost and complexity outweighs the benefit
When looking at the annual fees as a total combined number of me paying $2,700 per year like I do, then yes that would be better to just not have these cards and put $2,700 towards travel spend. But the effective net cost to me is significantly lower than this due to the credits and benefits on these cards that I use. I evaluate each card on a yearly basis to see if the benefits are greater than the cost - and for any cards where this is not true, I downgrade or cancel.
So it's a bit extra work to make the annual fees make sense financially, but for me that's the fun of this game. To other people, the time spent on this stuff is not fun and too complex to manage so it's not worth it. Varies from person to person.
But I will say that I'm pretty close to how many cards I want to have at any one time. I travel a lot, but not enough to justify paying $5,000+ for 50+ cards or something like that - so there is a limit for each person
should try to see if they will match the 75k in branch sapphire offer
I definitely will be doing that! I'll report back to the channel if they're able to match